


you make me feel like i’m living a teenage dream

by QueenIsabelle



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, High School AU, Lumity, Modern AU, slow burn au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27386050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenIsabelle/pseuds/QueenIsabelle
Summary: Luz Noceda is starting at a prestigious academy all the way across the country from her beloved mother, under the care of her eccentric godmother, Eda.At the academy, Luz tries to make friends while struggling to become a great writer.But what is Amity Blight’s problem with her?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 5
Kudos: 96





	1. one

Luz Noceda didn’t expect for her first day of school to be a hands-down success. She was starting her sophomore year a month into the second semester in a town that she had just moved to on the opposite side of the country from where she grew up. But that’s what happens when you’re kicked out of your last school, and your mom decides to send you to live with your godmother you’ve never met who happens to live in the district of a very prestigious school… on the other side of the country. Honestly, Luz was pleased to find that she could keep track of it all.

So, yeah, Luz didn’t know anyone at this new school of hers, but she didn’t let that deter her. She didn’t have any friends at her old school, so it’s not like she wasn’t used to being a little lonely. On the plus side, now she had a slightly-eccentric middle-aged woman and a fluffy yet lazy dog in her corner. Luz was counting it as a win.

But, as she walked into the hallowed halls of Hexside Academy for the first time, Luz couldn’t help but let herself hope for a moment. This year—er, semester?—was going to be a great one. She could feel it.

Luz promptly turned towards the principal’s office and ran headfirst into someone exiting the same room.

“Oh, god, I’m so sorry,” Luz rambled, brushing herself off and looking over at the other person. Amber eyes blazed back at her. 

“Watch where you’re going, nitwit!” the eyes growled. It was a girl, probably Luz’s age. She was extremely pale, almost to the point of being sickly. Her green hair was pulled back in a half-ponytail with her brown roots showing. She was shockingly pretty, or she would have been, if it weren’t for the scowl covering her face. She picked herself up off of the floor, gathering her books as she did so. When she was standing, she gave Luz one final look and stormed off in the other direction.

“Great first impression, Luz,” Luz muttered to herself. She got to her feet and glanced in the direction that the girl had gone off to. Shrugging off the less-than-stellar encounter, Luz continued to the principal’s office.

* * *

“So, you’re Eda’s goddaughter,” Principal Bump said, sitting behind his large desk. He wore long black robes with a blue stole, the kind you wore at graduations. Luz wondered if he wore it all of the time.

“I guess, yeah,” Luz answered. Why did he say it like it was a bad thing?

“I hope you don’t share her tendency to make trouble,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “though that seems unlikely, considering you were kicked out of your old school.”

“That wasn’t anything I did, though,” Luz argued. “The school board thought I was studying witchcraft and didn’t want me ‘infecting their children’s minds.’” 

That was a rough few months. Last semester had been particularly difficult with the bullying, so Luz had turned to the one thing that brought her comfort: The Good Witch Azura. And one day when the school mean girl was picking on her for liking boys and girls, as if that were something Luz had any say over and as if that were something that Luz wanted to change about herself, Luz may have overreacted and begun acting… strange. Weird. Maybe a little crazy. She started chanting, acting as if she were about to curse the girl. It had been satisfying in the moment, but not so much in the aftermath.

So, with her brief foray into witchcraft—and probably the fact that she was bisexual, though they could never say that—Luz was found guilty of disrupting the peace, or some bullshit like that, and kicked out of school.

Principal Bump surveyed her coolly. “I see. And is that something you’re interested in?”

“No! I just like the books!” Luz said.

“Books?”

“The Good Witch Azura books.”

“So, you like reading. Do you consider yourself a writer, perhaps?”

Luz faltered. “I mean, yes, I like to write…”

“Wonderful, so it sounds like we found your scholarly track.” Bump leaned over his desk and wrote a few things down on something that Luz couldn’t see.

Luz was dumbfounded. “What?”

“Did you not read the pamphlet?” Bump asked.

“There was a pamphlet?”

Bump sighed and rummaged around in his drawer, pulling out a pamphlet and handing it over the desk to Luz. As she opened it, he began explaining. “Here at Hexside, we believe in cultivating a student’s natural talents. Therefore, we have nine different tracks that they can choose to study and excel in: Music, Veterinary Sciences, Culinary Arts, Herbology, Art, Medicine, Writing, Acting, and Building. Each track is associated with a color, all of which are detailed in that pamphlet I’ve just handed you—you’ll wear that color under the uniform.”

“There’s a uniform?” Luz didn’t like the sound of that. She firmly believed in the art of free expression, and that included dressing how you wanted.

“Yes,” Principal Bump said, paying her indignation no mind. “We’ll let your lack of one slide for today, but you’ll need to be in uniform tomorrow. There’s a shop in town that you can find everything you need.”

Luz thought back to the pretty girl she had run into before stumbling into Principal Bump’s office. Luz could picture the gray dress she had been wearing, but she couldn’t remember much else. Had she had on pink leggings, maybe?

While Luz was attempting to remember what the green-haired girl had been wearing, Principal Bump turned to his computer and typed a few things in. The printer started printing, jarring Luz out of her thoughts. Bump grabbed the paper that emerged and handed it to her.

“This is your schedule. It’s a typical first-year schedule for the writing track. We’ll see how you do in these classes. If we find that you’re above where we’ve put you, we can do some switching. As for right now, you can head over to your homeroom with Mr. A.” With that, Principal Bump turned away from her, back to his computer. Luz took that as a sign for her to leave.

She stood up and exited the office, careful to watch for anyone who might be entering. Luckily, the coast was clear. She wasn’t sure that she could deal with another run-in—literally. With her schedule in front of her face, Luz attempted to find Room 113. Principal Bump’s office was Room 100, so it would seem logical that 113 would be down the hallway, somewhere past the sea of lockers.

The halls were empty as Luz walked down them, searching for her homeroom. It seemed like the lockers were never-ending. Finally, after much trial-and-error—including somehow walking into the boys’ restroom—Luz managed to find Room 113 with Mr. A. She opened the door, and every face turned to look at hers. Luz froze as she locked eyes with a familiar heated gaze. She gulped.

“And who would you be?” a voice asked at the front of the classroom. Luz managed to break her staring contest with the girl she’d accidentally ran over not even an hour ago and looked to the front of the room where the teacher sat.

“Um,” Luz stuttered. “I’m Luz Noceda. I’m new… and in your homeroom.” Mr. A gave her a stern look before his face abruptly changed into a cheery smile.

“Welcome! It’s always wonderful to get new students here at Hexside! Please, go find an empty seat!” He motioned with his hands towards the room. Luz nodded awkwardly and stepped inside, letting the door fall shut behind her. Luz swept her gaze across the room, immensely grateful that the seat next to the green-haired girl was filled. She didn’t think she could handle having to sit next to her for who knew how long.

Luz continued to walk down the middle aisle, searching for a seat. When her eyes landed on a spare seat next to a girl with glasses and curly hair, she knew she’d found not only her seat but maybe a friend as well. A bright smile filled her face as she slid into the empty space.

“Hi,” Luz whispered, leaning over to the girl as the classroom chatter started up. The girl started, looking wide-eyed up at Luz.

“Hi, me?” she asked, pointing at herself.

“Yeah, you! Hi!” Luz said. “My name’s Luz! What’s yours?”

“Willow,” the girl said slowly, reaching up to fiddle with her glasses.

“That’s a cool name,” Luz said. “So, what track are you?”

Willow eyed her strangely. “What are you playing at?”

Luz frowned. “What do you mean?”

“No one talks to me,” Willow said.

“I’m talking to you,” Luz argued.

“Why?”

“Because I’m new here, and I want to make friends. At my old school, I wasn’t very good at making friends… but I want to change that. So, I’m Luz Noceda, and I’m apparently on the writing track. I just moved here to live with my godmother.” Luz stuck out her hand for Willow to shake. Willow didn’t shake it.

“You want to be my friend?” Willow asked.

“Yeah!” Luz nodded frantically.

Willow cracked a small smile. “I’m in the acting track, though I’m not very good. Everyone makes fun of me for it.”

“Well, why are you in it, then?” Luz asked, confused.

“My parents put me on the acting track.” Willow shrugged. “Today is going to suck especially badly. We’re giving monologues, and I haven’t been able to memorize mine, let alone act it out.”

“Well, maybe I can help you!” Luz said.

“How?” Willow asked.

Luz smirked devilishly. “I have an idea.”

* * *

Luz’s idea did not go well. Personally, she thought that writing out the entire monologue on cue cards so she could hold them up for Willow through the back windows of the classroom was a brilliant idea. And it would have been, if Luz hadn’t fallen through the window in her enthusiasm onto that green-haired girl.

“I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t cause trouble here, Luz,” Principal Bump said sternly, eyeing her from behind his desk. Eda, her godmother, sat beside her, looking both proud and pissed off.

“I’m proud of you for playing hooky,” she’d whispered before they’d gone into Bump’s office, as Luz had skipped her first writing class to help Willow, “but we need to work on the ‘not getting caught’ part.”

“I didn’t mean to cause trouble,” Luz said. “I was just trying to help a friend.”

“And that’s very admirable, but we have these scholarly tracks for a reason,” Bump said.

Eda snorted. “Yeah, to keep the kids from trying new things. Kids can have more than one interest, ya know. Maybe that Willow girl wouldn’t have needed Luz’s help if she’d been allowed in a different ‘scholarly track.’” She used quotation marks at the end of the sentence to signify her disdain. Bump glared at her.

“Eda, I’m not sure that our school is right for your… charge,” Principal Bump said. Luz’s heart dropped.

“No, please,” Luz began to beg. The door behind her slammed open.

It was Willow. “Principal Bump, please don’t blame Luz. She was just trying to help me. Everyone knows I’m not a good actress.”

Bump softened at the admission. “Willow, I appreciate your concern for your friend, but—”

“But it’s only her first day,” Willow said, cutting him off. “Please, give her a chance.”

“Yeah, give her a chance, Bump. I think the kid would be a great addition to your school if you’d let her,” Eda added. Bump sat back in his seat and surveyed the three women in the room, two young and one older. Luz gave him a hopeful smile. He sighed.

“Alright, you can stay. But I expect to see you in uniform tomorrow, and I expect you to behave. That means attending all of your classes and apologizing to both Mr. A, the acting teacher, and Amity, the girl you fell on,” Principal Bump said.

“Deal!” Luz said, jumping up from her seat. Bump waved the group off, too tired to deal with their antics any longer. The three quickly left the office and congregated out in the hallway.

“Thank you for doing that, Willow,” Luz said. Willow shrugged.

“It’s what friends do,” she said. Luz squealed and hugged her. Willow stiffened, and Luz pulled back.

“Sorry, not a hugger?” she asked.

Willow laughed and extracted herself from Luz’s grasp. “I’ll see you in homeroom tomorrow, Luz.” She waved as she walked out of the building, leaving Luz and Eda by themselves.

“You ready to head home, kid?” Eda asked. Luz was about to agree when she spotted the green-haired girl that she’d had two unfortunate run-ins with—Amity.

“One sec. I have to go apologize,” Luz told Eda. The older woman looked over to where Luz had motioned and smirked.

“Oh, I see. You just have to go apologize to the pretty girl. I got you, Luz,” she said.

Luz’s face burned. “Wh-what? No, that’s the girl I fell on earlier. And I ran into her this morning. I-it’s the polite thing to do.” She crossed her arms over her chest and turned to go talk to Amity, ignoring Eda’s snickers in the background. Amity was reading a book and looked up as Luz walked closer, her face falling.

“Oh, it’s you,” she said, closing her book and holding it to her chest.

“Hey, it’s Amity, right? I’m Luz, Luz Noceda.” Luz stuck out her hand. Amity eyed it with disdain. Awkwardly, Luz let it fall to her side. “Anyways, I wanted to apologize for falling on you during your acting class today. And running into you this morning.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Amity said bluntly, her face not changing expressions at all. Luz stood there. “Was there something else?”

“No, nope. Just wanted to apologize, and say that I hope we can be friends,” Luz said, smiling.

“Friends?” Amity’s eyes widened. “You embarrassed me in front of my entire class, Mr. A, and Principal Bump today. You think we can be friends?”

“It was an accident,” Luz defended.

“You fell on top of me!”

“Accidentally!”

“Listen, Luz, was it? I accepted your apology, I’ll forget about you running into me this morning, but that does not make us friends.” Amity pushed past Luz to leave the school. At the end of the hall, Luz could see two tall figures, though they looked more like silhouettes illuminated through the setting sun.

Luz sighed as she stared after Amity but quickly cheered up. Maybe they weren’t friends now, but she could feel it—they would be someday.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 2 of Luz’s new school

The next day, Luz met Willow at her locker before homeroom.

“Hello, new friend!” Luz said, waving wildly.

Willow giggled. “Hi, Luz.”

A small boy with dark skin came running up and came to a stop in front of Willow, panting with his hands on his knees. “Willow! You… you’ll never guess… guess what I just… heard,” he said. He took a deep breath of air. “There’s a new student at Hexside!”

“Yeah, Augustus,” Willow said. “She’s right here.” Willow pointed at Luz who waved. Augustus gasped.

“Oh my goodness, it’s true! Hi! I’m Augustus!” the boy said, sticking out his chest.

“I knew an Augustus back home. We called him Gus,” Luz said. 

Augustus gasped. “A nickname? I’ve always wanted a nickname! You can call me Gus!”

“Okay,” Luz said. “Hi, Gus. I’m Luz.”

“Gus skipped a few grades,” Willow added.

“Wow, so you’re really smart, huh? What track are you on?” Luz asked.

“Art,” Gus said. He reached into his bag and grabbed out a sketchbook. He took a long look at Luz’s face and then began to draw. For a few minutes there was silence, with Luz casting a helpless glance Willow’s way, whose only response to shrug. Finally, Gus ripped the page he was working on out of the book and held it out triumphantly to Luz. It was a sketch of her as a witch, complete with flowing robes and a magical staff.

“Wow!” Luz said, grabbing the sketch. “This is incredible! And how did you know I liked witches?”

“You’re holding a book about them,” Gus said, pointing. Luz looked down at her hands. She was.

“Oh, right,” Luz said sheepishly, putting the book in her bag along with the sketch. As she looked up, Luz saw a familiar green-haired girl at the end of the hallway, confidently walking their way.

“Hey, what do you guys know about Amity?” Luz asked, nodding her head in the direction of the girl in question. Willow immediately folded in on herself, arms crossing over her body.

“Oh, uh, nothing that good, really,” Gus said. Luz looked at Willow in concern.

“Is everything alright?” she asked her.

“Willow and Amity used to be friends, a long time ago,” Gus said as Willow turned to her locker, fiddling with the combination lock despite the fact that she had her books in her hands. Amity passed them, not sparing any of her three classmates a glance. “But she’s a Blight, and they have a reputation to uphold.”

“A Blight?” Luz asked.

“Her mother’s a senator, and her father’s a lawyer,” Willow said, finally speaking up. “They’re super rich and super powerful. And super mean.”

“She’s mean to you?” Luz wasn’t about to befriend any bully.

“Not, like, really mean. More like passive-aggressive. Boscha’s the one who’s the real bully, but Amity doesn’t stop her,” Willow said.

“Who’s Boscha?” Luz asked.

“You’ll know her when you see her,” Gus said. Willow nodded in agreement. The bell rang, then, signaling the beginning of the school day.

“Come on, Luz,” Willow said. “We have to get to homeroom.”

“Okay. It was nice to meet you, Gus,” Luz said. Gus waved and headed off in the opposite direction. Willow and Luz made their way to Room 113.

“Listen, Willow, I didn’t mean to upset you earlier,” Luz said softly to her new friend. “I was just curious.”

“It’s okay, Luz. You’re the new kid, and everyone notices Amity. She’s kind of hard to miss. They all are.” Willow sighed in resignation.

“What do you mean?” Luz asked.

“The Blight twins, Amity’s older siblings. They’re seniors.”

“Oh. Are they like Amity?”

“Yes and no. Powerful, popular, pretty—yes. Top students, not so much. They’re extremely smart, but they’re pranksters. We’ll probably at least have one day where school is cancelled because of them.”

Luz was fascinated by all of this information. There was so much to learn at this new school—drama, intrigue, mysterious backstories. She loved it.

As she and Willow found their seats from yesterday in Mr. A’s classroom, Luz pulled out the drawing that Gus had made of her as a witch. She looked so much like Azura, it made her heart soar.

* * *

Luz floated through the day, amazed by all of the classes she was in. She had missed most of the day yesterday, as she had been put in detention and then the principal’s office after third period with the acting class incident. But today—today was _amazing._

She had writing classes. She had literature classes. Unfortunately, she did have a math class. But her last class of the day, which she walked to with a spring in her step, was regular English, and Luz couldn’t help but think that it was the cherry on top of an incredible school sundae.

It was strange, in a way. At her old school, Luz dreaded going. Her teachers never listened to her ideas and sent her to the principal’s office often, citing her imagination as being too “wild” and “distracting.” And obviously, she had no friends. In fact, she was bullied rather ruthlessly. But at Hexside, it was only her second day, and she’d managed to impress her teachers and make two friends. And no one had bullied her!

Luz was feeling on top of the world as she walked into English with Miss Jenkinmeyer, but she nearly stopped in her tracks when she saw who else was in class with her.

Amity Blight sat at the front of the classroom, reading from her book. Was she always reading?

As sneakily as she could, Luz walked around the perimeter of the room and chose a seat in the third row as far from Amity as she could. Despite her earlier feeling of friendship towards the girl, the knowledge of her history with Willow put Luz off. How could she attempt to befriend Amity without betraying Willow? And did she really want to be friends with someone like that?

No, Luz decided, no, she didn’t. She decided to busy herself with getting her stuff for class ready, steadily ignoring Amity’s presence in the room, though Amity seemed not to have noticed that anyone else had come in. Slowly but surely, the class began to fill up. Just as the bell rang, Miss Jenkinmeyer came in, pulling the door closed behind her.

“Take a few minutes to get ready while I pull up your bell ringer,” she announced to the class, walking over to her desk. Luz took a breath and got up from her seat to go let the teacher know that there was an additional student in her class. Miss Jenkinmeyer seemed thrilled to have Luz in her class, as she had been in her previous writing workshop that morning.

Luz walked back to her desk, feeling confident. She had introduced herself to all of her teachers, and they all seemed pleased to have her in class. This year was certainly looking up. It was then that Luz felt eyes on her. She looked over to see Amity Blight glaring at her. Luz shrunk back from her stare and looked at the piece of paper on her desk, readying her pencil to begin answering the bell ringer.

After a few minutes, Miss Jenkinmeyer called the class to attention. “So, as I mentioned yesterday, you will have today to get started on your book projects for the semester. Go ahead and find your partner that you chose yesterday. I expect you to outline a plan of attack and organize meetings for outside of class. So, get started!”

Luz watched as her classmates paired off and began chattering away. Swallowing, Luz got up and went to Miss Jenkinmeyer.

“Um, Miss Jenkinmeyer? I wasn’t in class yesterday, so…” Luz said awkwardly.

“Oh, so you don’t have a partner! Well, that’s alright. We have an odd number in here, so Amity offered to work by herself. But with you here, we can partner you two up!” Miss Jenkinmeyer said. Luz’s stomach dropped as she called Amity up to the desk.

“Yes, Miss Jenkinmeyer?” Amity said, ignoring Luz.

“Luz doesn’t have a partner for the project, so you two will be working together! Isn’t that exciting?”

Amity’s eyes widened. “B-but I thought we agreed that I could work by myself!”

“Amity, you always work by yourself. I think this will be good for you, a chance to try out some teamwork. You and Luz will be partners for the semester. My mind is made up.”

Amity turned red. Luz thought that she was going to argue, but instead, she took a deep breath and returned to her usual cool disposition. “Alright, Miss Jenkinmeyer.” She turned on her heel and walked back to her desk. Awkwardly, Luz followed and sat in a chair nearby, moving it across the floor so that she was across from Amity.

“So…” Luz said, tapping her fingers on Amity’s desk.

“Will you stop that?” Amity said, swatting at Luz’s hand. Luz put her hand in her lap and looked anywhere but at Amity.

“Um, so,” Luz stammered. “What’s the project?”

“We choose a book to present a report on. We have to do something extra with it, too, like perform a scene,” Amity said, opening her notebook. “I was in the process of choosing my book, so I guess we’ll decide on one together.”

“Oh, we could do something creepy, like Edgar Allan Poe! Maybe _The Tell-Tale Heart? The Cask of Amontillado?_ ”

“Those are short stories, not books,” Amity said, sighing.

“Okay…” Luz said, thinking. A brilliant idea struck her. “Ooh, we should do _The Good Witch Azura!_ It’s incredible!” Amity blinked. For a second, Luz thought she was going to agree, but then Amity shook her head.

“That’s a children’s book,” she argued.

Luz deflated. “Okay, so what do you think?”

“Maybe a classic?” Amity suggested, turning her notebook so that she could see the options that Amity had written down.

“ _The Scarlet Letter?_ ” Luz read. “ _To Kill A Mockingbird?_ Aren’t those kind of basic?”

Amity’s cheeks flushed. “Well, it’s not like your ideas were any better.”

Luz felt her temper flare but quickly put it in check. She didn’t need another trip to Bump’s office on her second day of school. “Okay, it’s okay. We can figure something out. Maybe we can do something more modern, like from the 2000s?”

“Fine, that works,” Amity agreed. Luz brightened. That was surprisingly easy. “But we need something that sticks out, then. I want to do something that we can really work with.”

“Hmm,” Luz hummed, thinking. She watched as Amity pulled out her phone and began scrolling. “Are you really on your phone right now?”

Amity scowled. “I’m looking for ideas. Books that have won awards, stuff like that.” She was silent as she continued scrolling, while Luz tapped her finger to her chin, wracking her brain. Just as she was about to pull out her own phone, Amity let out a little sound. It was surprisingly cute.

“What if we did _Fun Home_?” Amity asked, turning her phone to show Luz a picture of the book. “It’s a graphic novel about Alison Bechdel’s life, the creator of the Bechdel Test.”

“Huh, I haven’t read it,” Luz said.

“It’s really good. It deals with sexuality and mental illnesses and her dad’s death. And there’s a musical based off of it, so maybe we could pull that in, too,” Amity said excitedly. If Luz hadn’t been interested in the book before, she would have been pulled in by Amity’s enthusiasm.

“Okay, that sounds good,” Luz said.

“Awesome!” Amity squealed. Then, she coughed and assumed her bored look. “Cool. So, it’s settled.”

“So, now we just need to figure out times when we can work on it. We could meet at your house?” Luz offered.

“No!” Amity said, sitting upright. Luz jumped back in surprise. “I just mean, my siblings will be there and bug us, so we wouldn’t get anything done. I can come to you?”

“Do you know where the Owl House is?” Luz asked.

“That weird diner?” Amity asked, nose crinkling.

“My godmother owns it,” Luz said defensively. “We live behind it.”

“Okay, the Owl House it is, then,” Amity said. The bell rang, ending the class. Amity and Luz watched as their classmates hurried to pack their stuff before rushing out the door. Amity stood as well once the rush had passed. She picked up her books and gathered them all in her arms.

“Do you want to meet later today? To figure out a schedule?” she asked.

“Sure,” Luz said. “Would seven work alright for you?” She was helping out at the diner for Eda, and her shifts usually went from after school to about seven, so that she still had time to do her work.

Amity nodded. “I guess I’ll see you then.” She left the classroom without looking back.

Luz sighed. How was she going to explain this to Willow?


	3. three

Luz found that working at the Owl House was surprisingly fun. She enjoyed the customers who came in. They were nice and quirky, weirdos like her and Eda and King. They tipped well, and they never asked for difficult orders. All in all, the Owl House was pretty laid back, and Luz really enjoyed the atmosphere.

There was a large yawn off in the corner. Luz turned around to see King curling up in the corner, one ear at attention and the other ear—well, the other ear had been torn off somehow long before Eda had come across the German Shepherd-mixed-with-something-she-didn’t-know mutt. Luz suspected that he’d had a hard life out on the streets, but now he was here, at the Owl House, and he was adorable.

“Aw, King,” Luz cooed, walking over to him. “Are you tired?” She dropped to her knees and began to cuddle him. He whined and pawed at her, trying to keep up his persona of Big Dog on Campus. But soon, he succumbed to her pets and kisses and gave her one in turn. Luz fell back at the force of the lick and wiped at her face. “Aw, man! Gross!” Luz wiped at her face. “Glad no one was around to see that.”

“We were!” A high voice said. Luz twirled around on her butt and looked up at the sound. And up. Long legs led to two identical-looking people, though one was a boy and the other a girl. They had mirrored beauty marks under their eyes and dark green hair. They even wore semi-matching outfits—the fit, the style, and the coloring were the same, though the girl wore shorts and flats while the guy wore pants and heeled boots.

“That was pretty cute,” the guy said.

“ _She’s_ pretty cute,” the girl corrected. She bent her knees and tilted her head at Luz, who blushed at the attention. “What’s your name, cutie?”

“Emira, Edric, stop bothering her.” That was a voice that Luz had come to know surprisingly well. Amity appeared behind the green-haired twins and squeezed through them to get to Luz. She held out her hand, which Luz gladly took, and pulled Luz up off the floor.

“Sorry, Luz,” Amity said. “My stupid siblings insisted on coming in.”

“If you’re going to ask us for a ride,” the boy sing-songed.

“Then we get to know why you’re going there,” the girl finished. Luz stared at them in awe; she hoped her mouth wasn’t open.

“Whatever, you can go now,” Amity said, making shoo-ing motions at her brother and sister. And of course, Luz should have known right away that they were all siblings. They had the same facial shape and the same amber eyes; even the dyed green hair gave off the same impression, though they were different shades. Amity’s was more mint while the twins were forest green. And they were all ridiculously pretty. Honestly, Luz thought it was unfair how pretty they all were.

“Now, now, Mittens,” the girl said, reaching over to ruffle her sister’s hair. Amity went red. “Aren’t you going to introduce us to your friend?”

They didn’t wait for Amity to respond, though she looked liable to explode.

“I’m Emira,” the girl said, “And this is Edric.” She pointed at the boy who did jazz hands. Luz laughed.

“I’m Luz,” Luz introduced herself. The twins’ eyes lit up.

“You’re the new girl!” Edric exclaimed.

“The one who fell on Mittens!” Emira added, laughing. Luz turned a little red at that.

“That was an accident,” she said, glancing at Amity.

“Ed, Em, leave,” Amity said. Emira pouted at her younger sister.

“But we’re at a restaurant. We should get some food, right, Ed?” Emira said.

“You’re absolutely right, Em. Surely, you wouldn’t let us starve, Mittens?” Edric said. Amity fumed. Luz cut in before World War III could break out in the Owl House.

“I can grab you something, if you want. Coffee? A sandwich?” Luz offered.

“Something quick and that they can take _to go_.” Amity aimed the last two words at her siblings who smirked at her.

“Fine, be that way,” Edric said.

“We’ll just have to come by some other time,” Emira said. “This place is cute. And the waitstaff is even cuter.” Edric winked at Luz before the twins turned and left, the bell above the door chiming their exit.

“Did they not want anything?” Luz asked faintly after a moment.

“They were just doing it to be annoying,” Amity said, shaking her head. “Sorry about them.”

Luz shook her own head, though hers was to straighten her thoughts. The effect of two cute upperclassmen had thoroughly rattled her brain.

“So, this is the Owl House, huh?” Amity said, taking a step further inside. Luz looked around, imagining what it must seem like through Amity’s eyes. When Luz had first seen it, she had been overwhelmed with wonder. It was warm and inviting and quirky with it’s dark walls and stained-glass small windows placed throughout. There was a fireplace in one corner, and rugs scattered all over the floor. Wooden tables filled the empty space in the middle of the diner while the walls were outlined with booths. Every spare shelf was filled with different trinkets and objects. Luz thought it was the most magical place in the world.

“Well, I just have to clean up after that table when they’re done,” Luz said, motioning with her head to the small family in the middle of the dining area. “Do you want to find a table, and we can do some work there? I can get us something to snack on. What would you like to drink?”

Amity blinked. “Oh, uh, water’s fine. I guess I’ll go… find a table.” Amity headed for the small booth in the corner of the restaurant. Luz smiled. That was her favorite spot.

Luz went about finishing up her shift, grabbing the check for the family and clearing off the table. She chatted with Hooty, the cook, for a minute while he made their fries and filled up two glasses, one with water and one with Dr. Pepper. Then, she grabbed the fries and the two glasses and headed towards Amity, everything expertly cradled in her arms.

Amity looked up as Luz got closer and jumped.

“Oh, do you need help?” Amity asked, hands reaching around uselessly. Luz set the glasses down on the table and put the basket of fries in the middle. She slid into the opposite side of the booth and smiled at the green-haired girl.

“Nope!” she said cheerfully. Amity’s eyes were wide and uncertain as she reached for her water glass and took a sip.

“Thank you,” Amity told Luz.

Luz grabbed a fry and threw it in her mouth. “No problem! So, let’s get our schedule nailed down.”

Luz watched as Amity drew a notebook out of her bag and splayed it out on the table. There were dates circled and outlined and highlighted with notes drawn in.

“I made a schedule of when we need to have things done by to keep on top of the project. We just need to see when our schedules align for when we can work on it,” Amity said. She looked a little sheepish at the awe on Luz’s face.

“You’re so organized,” Luz said, reverently touching the pages. “I barely remember to write down tests on my hand.”

Amity giggled, then coughed to cover it up when Luz looked at her.

“So, the pink spaces are times that I can’t meet,” Amity said, pointing one out. Luz looked at all of the pink spaces across the calendar.

“Man, you’re really busy. What are all of these things?” Luz asked. She squinted at Saturday morning, trying to decipher the neat but tiny handwriting.

“Things,” Amity said, pulling the notebook closer to her protectively. “Like, rehearsals.”

Luz wanted to argue, but Amity continued before she could open her mouth.

“So, what’s your schedule like?” Amity asked. She pulled out a purple pen from her bag and held it at the ready above the paper. Luz thought for a moment.

“Not too busy, I don’t think. I just help out at the diner a few days a week, but Eda would work around any schedule that we work out,” Luz said. Amity nodded and gazed at her schedule. She set the end of the pen against her full, bottom lip. Luz, suddenly, was very distracted. She tore her gaze away and shoved a few more french fries in her mouth.

“I think I could do Tuesday nights, Friday afternoons, and Sundays at any time. Do those sound okay to you?” Amity asked. Luz paused for a moment, thinking. If they met on Tuesday nights, she could do the afternoon shift if needed. Friday nights were super busy, so those would be free, and Sunday mornings were pretty full as well.

“Could we do Sunday afternoons?” Luz asked. Amity nodded. “Then, all of that works for me.”

“Awesome,” Amity said, marking down the dates on her schedule. Luz pulled out her phone while Amity was busy and opened up a new contact. When Amity looked up once more, Luz’s phone was in her face.

“Here,” Luz said. “Put in your number, so we can talk about the project.”

Amity blinked. “Oh. Um…”

Luz tilted her head in confusion. “I just figured it would be easiest this way, you know? We can tell each other ideas that we think of, or let the other know if we’re going to be sick that day.”

Amity sighed and grabbed Luz’s phone. “Yeah, that makes sense.” She tapped away at Luz’s phone, then handed it back to her. Amity’s phone let out a _ding_. “I texted myself.”

Luz beamed. “Awesome! So, since you’re here, did you want to get started on the project?”

“Have you read the book yet?” Amity asked.

“Oh. No.” Luz had forgotten about that. “But you said there’s a musical, right? Why don’t you tell me about it?”

And so Luz sat there for an hour, eating fries, as Amity regaled her with the tale of _Fun Home_. She pulled out her phone and played a few songs for Luz, who really enjoyed them. She talked about the awards that the show had won, and how Amity thought that it should be made into a movie. Luz was awestruck by Amity’s passion and love for the show. In those moments, with Amity’s eyes lit up, she forgot about the rocky start between the two and the mysterious history between Amity and Willow.

Amity was halfway through explaining the ending song—something about Small Alison, Medium Alison, and regular Alison?—when Eda burst through the door.

“I’m home!” she called out.

Hooty stuck his head through the window where he set his freshly cooked meals. “Oh, boy! I can’t wait to tell you about the day I’ve had!”

“I don’t care,” Eda said dismissively. She looked around the diner and grinned when she saw Luz. “Hello, there, Luz. And who is it that you’re sequestered away in this corner with?”

Luz blushed at what Eda was insinuating. “This is Amity. We’re working on a project for the semester together. We were figuring out a schedule.”

“Amity, huh?” Eda leaned back and set a hand on her hip. “Say, wasn’t that the girl you had to apologize for falling on?”

Luz facepalmed. “Yes, Eda. Thanks for bringing that up again.”

“So, you two have a semester-long project? I always hated those. Guess I’ll be seeing a lot of you, Amity,” Eda said, sizing the green-haired girl up. Amity looked at Luz for help, who just shrugged.

“I guess,” Amity said, unsure. Her phone _ding_ ed before Eda could say anything else. Amity looked at it and sighed. “That’s Ed and Em. They’re here to pick me up.”

Luz frowned. “Oh, okay. Well, let me walk you out.” She stood up as Amity gathered her stuff and shooed off Eda, who took the opportunity to mutter “Smooth, kid,” into her ear. Luz scowled at her godmother. She wasn’t being smooth; she was being polite.

Finally, Amity had everything placed in her bag. The two girls headed for the exit, and Luz held the door open for her.

“So, I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” Luz said brightly. That was when she remembered: Willow. “Oh, no.”

Amity looked at her strangely. “What?”

“Nothing!” Luz said, faking cheer. Amity gave her another strange look but waved goodbye before heading out into the night. In the parking lot, Luz could see a bright green convertible with its top down. In the front sat two figures—Emira and Edric. Luz watched as Amity got into the back of the car, more silhouette than human being due to the setting sun. She sighed as the car reversed and then drove out of the parking lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I'm obsessed with Dr. Pepper, so I had to throw that in there. It's seriously a problem (and I'm trying to stop. Count today as day one)
> 
> 2) Fun Home is incredible and heart-breaking and you all should definitely go listen to the musical and read the book. I think it's a perfect fit for these characters, and I was so proud of myself when I came up with the idea while writing. Do yourselves a favor and listen/read (listening made me cry more tbh)


End file.
